


A Hole in My Defences

by stars28



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-06 08:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11597256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars28/pseuds/stars28
Summary: Jack Thompson had no idea how Angie Martinelli got through his defences.





	A Hole in My Defences

**Author's Note:**

> This is another Agent Carter fic, of the Jack/Angie variety.
> 
> (Pre-Season 1, Episode 6: A Sin To Err.)

_“You got inside through a hole in my defences_  
_and how you fit I’ll never understand_  
_but you got into me, and I got into you…”_  
**\- Dance With You, Bowling For Soup.**

“Excuse me? Sir?” A melodic voice interrupted Jack’s self-loathing thoughts.

He looked up, brushing a piece of hair off his forehead, to find a cute blonde frowning at him. He squinted at her nametag for a second, a smile spreading across his face.

“Yes Angie?” Jack said, leaning back against the bench, draping an arm across the back.

“If you want to stay any longer, you’ll have to order something else.” She replied, fingers clutching the coffee pot tightly.

He checked his watched and promptly realised that he had to be at the SSR office in half an hour. He stood up, pulling his coat on as he did so. Quickly, he grabbed his hat from where he’d put it on the table next to his newspaper and placed it on his head.

“Sorry sweetheart,” He said, digging in his pocket for some change to pay with, “This meeting is going to have to be cut short. I’m late.”

He slapped the five dollar bill on the table and walked out of the automat without a single glance behind.

*

_“Hey Peggy?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“What do your co-workers look like?”_

_“Thompson has blonde hair and a godforsaken smug look on his face, Daniel has dark hair and – I don’t want to be rude but… a limp on account of the leg injury…”_

_“Hmmm…”_

_“Why do you want to know?”_

_“No reason Peggy. Let’s go to sleep now.”_

*

The automat’s bright sign almost blinded him. Jack didn’t understand why it had to be so bright. But then, he was a bit tipsy. The guys at work had bugged him into going for a night out. He didn’t regret it. That would come tomorrow, when the hangover truly set in and he was at work. There was no rest for an SSR agent.

He entered the automat, squinting at the change from dark to light, and found a table near the back. He almost tripped over a table leg, but managed to right himself on the table. He sat down heavily on the seat and blinked as the world swayed from side to side.

“Can I get you something?”

Jack blinked slowly several times before looking upwards. It was the same waitress as last time. What was her name? After a few long minutes of attempting to remember her name, he blurted out, “Angie!”

She laughed, her blonde hair bobbing up and down, “Yeah, that’s my name. You want some coffee?”

“Yes please.” Jack replied, mortified that he’d just blurted out her name with nothing else. He hoped that his face wasn’t as red as it felt.

Angie walked away and Jack took the opportunity to observe the sway of her hips. She was very pretty, even in her uniform. In fact, he thought that the uniform just made her look even better.

She returned a few moments later, coffee pot in one hand and a clean mug in the other. She placed the mug firmly on the table and poured Jack a strong coffee.

“I think you need it.” Angie said, “You stink of booze.”

Before Jack could explain that he wasn’t _that_ drunk, that the smell was the fault of one of his co-workers spilling their pint on him, she had walked away. Damn. He sighed and began to drink his coffee.

*

_“You know how I asked you to tell me what your co-workers looked like.”_

_“It was only yesterday – of course I didn’t forget!”_

_“Well... Jack came in last night.”_

_“What?”_

_“Yeah, I think he’d been drinking. I could smell the booze on him.”_

_“What did he do?”_

_“Nothing, ordered a coffee and sat there for a while then left.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Yeah.”_

*

Jack didn’t reflect on why he did his job very often as it usually ended with him reaching for the nearest bottle of alcohol. This time however, he went to the automat where Angie worked. It was past lunchtime, so the place was almost completely empty.

When he entered, the bell above the door announcing his arrival, Angie was leaning against a stool. Jack took a moment to admire the way that her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders before taking a seat. She approached him soon enough.

“You again.” She said.

“Yeah, me again.” Jack replied, a smile on his face upon finding out that she remembered him, “Can I have a coffee? And some sort of pastry?”

“Sure thing.”

After Angie had retrieved Jack’s requested pastry and coffee, she sat down opposite to him.

“What you doing?” Jack asked, glancing at her from over his mug.

She gestured to the empty automat, “It’s not like I’m slammed with customers. Besides, I wanna know your name _and_ why you’re looking so morose.”

“Ok, I’m Jack, and I’m morose because I’m not sure I’m doing the right job.” He answered, shrugging, “And now _I_ want to know why you work here Angie.”

“What job do you do Jack? I know you work at the phone company with Peggy.”

Angie was a friend of Carter’s? He’d have to remember that.

“I’m in management.” He said, grudgingly giving credit to Carter for the lie. It would have been difficult to explain his job without mentioning the SSR, “And I don’t think I’m well-suited for it.”

“Really? You seem like the type of guy who can give orders.” Angie stated, “But then not everything is about giving orders.”

“Exactly.” Jack took a bite of the sweet pastry and marvelled at the amazing taste. He swallowed before saying, “Now, we’ve covered why I’m here. Your turn now.”

Angie sighed, “I work here so I can afford to live while waiting for an acting job to come along.”

“Wait, you’re an actress?”

She blushed prettily, “Yeah I am. Or I _would be_ if a director took me on. I’m not having much luck lately.”

Jack frowned, knowing this young woman deserved a chance. He tried to think how he could help. After a few minutes, his brown eyes lit up.

“You’ve got an idea.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if it’s guaranteed to work.” Jack said, not wanting to get Angie’s hopes up before he pulled his idea off.

“An idea is better than anything else I’ve had recently.”

*

_“You know, Jack had an unusually long lunch break today.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Yes, he never usually leaves the office during the day unless there’s a good reason.”_

_“Maybe he fancied taking a walk?”_

_“Hmm… Maybe Angie.”_

*

Jack whistled as he entered the automat. It was a good morning. He’d made the phone call for Angie last night and they’d confirmed this morning that Angie had a real chance. He made for the nearest empty table and waited patiently for Angie to reach him.

After a few minutes, she appeared, a vision of beauty in her automat uniform and curled hair with an adorable frown on her face. Her face soon switched to a bright smile when she saw him though, which made a warm fuzzy feeling settle in his chest.

“Jack!” Angie exclaimed, excitedly, “I’ve got an acting job!”

Jack grinned, “I’m glad.”

“And it’s all thanks to you.”

He felt a blush creeping up his neck and onto his cheeks, “I hardly did anything.”

She gave him a quick hug before informing him that his coffee was on the house today.

“Thanks.”

No one had ever been that grateful for him before. It was an unusual feeling, but Jack decided, that for Angie he would do something. Maybe go and see her first show.

*

_“Peggy!”_

_“What?”_

_“I’ve got a part in a play!”_

_“That’s great!”_

_“Yeah. I’m gonna have to still work at the automat, but it’s something.”_

*

Jack took a night off from the SSR to see Angie’s first official show. He knew that Carter wasn’t going; she was on night duty. And that wasn’t his fault. Chief Dooley had finally given into Carter’s incessant persuasion and had given her _one_ night shift with Sousa. It was a start, Carter had said.

He sat at near the back of the small, off-off Broadway theatre, trying to be inconspicuous. He didn’t think that Angie expected anyone to come and see it, but he knew that she’d appreciate the flowers he’d brought for her. Plus, Jack knew that, without a doubt, she would have put her heart into this job.

Jack was going to be honest – he didn’t really understand the play. What he _did_ understand was that Angie was good, like really, _really_ good. However, not understanding the play didn’t stop him from approaching Angie when she appeared from backstage. She was wearing a simple blue dress that fell to her knees and a pair of black heels. Jack’s mouth fell open and the hand holding the bouquet of flowers fell down as he tried to take in the sight. He’d only ever since her in her automat uniform and was quickly discovering that Angie in her usual clothes was spectacular. He felt the crazy urge to burn all of her uniforms.

“Jack!” Angie said when she saw him, her face lighting up. She headed his way through the small crowd, smiling widely.

Jack felt a little dizzy that he could put that happy expression on her face. He took a deep breath in and exhaled as Angie stood in front of him in all her glory. It was all he could do not to kiss her.

“Are they for me?” She asked, looking down at the flowers.

He almost shoved the bouquet into Angie’s face in his haste to give them to her. As she took them off him, he nervously licked his lips and said, “Yeah, they’re for you.”

 _God_. She must think he was an idiot. Jack could feel the blush forming the back of his neck and inching its way onto his cheeks.

“That’s really sweet Jack.” Angie said, interrupting his thoughts, “Thank you.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassment racing through him. “It’s nothing.”

“No. Jack I mean it. No one else came.”

“Well, Carter – _Peggy_ – is on shift so she couldn’t come. I thought I’d come to see it. Though, I’ve got to admit, I didn’t understand the play at all.”

Angie’s laugh was one of Jack’s favourite things in the world. When she laughed, she tipped her head back, unconsciously exposing her throat. He felt the urge to kiss that creamy throat, but no he couldn’t.

“Really?”

Jack nodded, “Yeah, but you were really good though. So I’d definitely come to see it again.”

It was now Angie’s turn to blush, “Th-thanks Jack.”

*

_“Peggy, Jack came to my first opening night.”_

_“Wait, what? Jack? Thompson?”_

_“Yeah. He brought me a bouquet of flowers – the ones over there, by the sink.”_

*

Jack had already been to the automat twice today – once for his breakfast and then again for his lunch – and he still hadn’t asked Angie the question he wanted to. It was now almost closing time; he could see Angie beginning the process of tidying up before she could leave.

“Hey Jack, come and give me a hand.” Angie called.

With a start, he realised that he was the only person in the automat, aside from Angie herself. He got up, leaving his coat and hat on the bench, and made his way to her. Wordlessly, he began to push chairs into the correct places while Angie wiped down the tables.

“Angie?” He said nervously, “I’ve got a question.”

She didn’t look up from her task. “Go for it.”

“Would – would you like to d-date me?”

Jack cursed internally; he sounded like a teenager asking his first crush out. There was no way Angie was going to say yes to that.

He observed as Angie looked up from the table she’d been cleaning. He gulped, trying to force the nerves down, which didn’t really work.

“Jack,” She said, smiling softly, “That would be lovely.”

Jack blinked and tried to take in the fact that Angie had accepted, “I, wow. That’s great.”

He couldn’t stop the grin that took over his face though.

*

_“What’s got you looking so cheerful Thompson?”_

_“Nothing Carter.”_

_“Got a date?”_

_“Maybe.”_

**Author's Note:**

> So much cuteness in this fic, it’s unbelievable. Still, I really like this fic and I also thought that it’d be shorter to be honest, but whatever.


End file.
